#im about to finish his s1 finale video

[amelia-mariee]

Pro tip: tired of rewatching your favorite show all alone? find a reaction channel that’s actually good, it’s like watching it with someone, plus you have the fun of “ooo I can’t wait until they get to this episode”, PLUS you don’t have to be worried about annoying them with all your comments because they can’t hear you OR maybe they have as many little comments as you

[world-smitten]

just finished Arcane season 2 & how could something be so good, and yet so bad? Felt like a yoyo because the writers clearly knew what they were doing, but they wouldn't have been able to take the wild swings they did without Fortiche's production strength. If s1 got around its 9 episode limitations by being lean, spare and hyper-focused, s2 goes wildly in the other direction, a maximalist "bang-for-your-buck" approach that clearly favours the animation. Like Riot always knew that Fortiche was their trump card but i dont think even they could predict how quickly and massively beloved the studio's house style would be. So the plot feels like it's structured both to set up future shows, but also to give Fortiche every single opportunity to flex their skills. Its a season that's intensely cinematic and layered in the ways it visually conveys the external action and the internal psychology of its characters. But this maximalist approach to animation is something im getting slightly tired of - post spiderverse fatigue i guess (to put it simply). But the production isnt as insufferable as ATSV was, partly because all of the characters are a stronger emsemble, but also because the operatic multiverses, timelines etc all feel like a shell to hold the characters vast feelings about themselves & each other. Like the mechanics of time travel are meant to hold Ekko's twin loves of Zaun & Jinx; even the worldending Arcane mumbo jumbo is meant to express Jayce & Viktor's love of each other, of these two men going on a journey of discovery and work together, and where that journey ends.

the problem with the high-concept, big-feeling approach is that it blows away everything that s1 worked towards - namely that this conflict was about two sisters, and two cities. Zaun becomes a passenger to the story. So much gets picked up & left behind. The deep foundation that s1 set up gets built on in patchwork, and very few characters feel like they're written to their full potential. I also think that making Viktor the final boss was frankly ridiculous - why should his journey to heal himself lead him to such a hyperbolic end? Jayce's speech about why Viktor was fine the way he was would be great in any other context - in this context, it neatly sidesteps that there were structural reasons for Viktor's illness. But ofc, when your writing barrels towards the abstract, all kinds of structural, tangible world-building gets left behind.

Much to love (Ambessa, Mel & Ekko's storylines, even Jinx's kinda worked) - and i'll forever love this show for writing black characters that fully take part in the politics and magic of their world. But boyyyy what a crazy rollercoaster. The only consistent act was act 1, and then act 2 & 3 were ping-pong in terms of quality. Eps 4 & 7 were soo beautiful, but what followed them - yikes 😬. Those godawful "music" videos at the start of each ep (so glad they dropped that gimmick in act 3!) & I'm still not over how jarring that Vander flashback w/ Silco & Felicia was. Like wtf.

[deliciouspirateangel]

just finished binging the entirety of high school musical: the musical: the series in six days and now i'm going to ramble about it for longer than anyone would care to read. it's gonna be generally positive but definitely nini and olivia unfriendly so if you dont wanna read that... dont ♥️♥️

so i suggested to my sister a while ago that i wanted to watch the show bc the videos that youtube commentary channel "pretty much it" did for it were hysterical. and she had watched the first couple of eps by herself and was like "i dont think you'll like it. its not as funny as they make it seem". but we finally decided to start it anyway

(also i dont know the entire casts' real names so i'll mostly refer to them as their character names)

season 1:

that first season was kind of rough. especially the pilot. it got better over time but its definitely my least favorite season over all. im not even a fan of high school musical so it lacked the nostalgia enjoyment for me

and i definitely did not like nini and her main character syndrome. and sorry to say but i think olivia is the least talented cast member over all. pretty privilege is so real like she didnt deserve to be the break out star she was just the most marketable. kourtney and ashlyn's voices were so strong and stellar, and they might not've been Dancers but they could definitely move. and gina was the best dancer in the fucking world and while i do think her voice wasnt as good, she could obviously still sing. nini's best talent moments were when olivia was shining thru imo (that one taking it for gra-a-a-anted song comes to mind first) but i was not here for the acoustic numbers and honestly i dont think she was a great actress

so i definitely wasnt a fan of the whole nini ricky gina ej love square. i know its a tried and true teen show staple but goddamn it got tiring. i just never liked rini and i didnt like how nini treated him right from the start asklfjlds. she was also rude as hell to everyone else, especially gina, being all passive aggressive towards her. literally saying she wanted to kick gina in the face bc gina is a good dancer and she's intimidated?? but also all the talk in general about gina being intimidating or aggressive or a bad seed like ??? the microaggressions were off the charts

not to mention the fucking macroaggression of kourtney's entire s1 "character". i think hattie mcdaniel had a more nuanced role in gone with the wind. it was so fucking painful to watch. she didnt exist to be anything other than nini's personal soundboard, cheerleader, stylist, life coach, and whatever else she needed in the moment. thank god they gave her a real character by s2 bc kourtney was way too talented, too gorgeous, too charismatic to be forced into the role of nini's handmaid the whole time

i dont really have much to say about s1 cause i wasnt into it at the time lol. it was okay. all the actors did a good job, it was kind of funny, the only song that really stood out was miss jenn's fantasy sequence song with lucas. the actually high school musical show they put on was painful to watch but thats high school theater for you babyyy

season 2:

this was such an improvement from s1 and my favorite season over all. there were a handful of eps in the middle where i was constantly like "this is my fave ep" "ok this is my fave ep" "ok now THIS is my fave ep" it was a delight. i love beauty and the beast and was so happy for ashlyn getting belle, and everyone else was very well cast. although idk why seb was chip and not cogsworth?? my sister said it was bc disney didnt want to confirm that they were gay 💔💔

the music was obviously better bc we've got fucking alan menken on the track. all the numbers from the show were perfect. i wish ej had gotten to sing the gaston reprise bc he didnt get to reach his full gaston potential and i think we deserved that 💔

the debacle with the whole rose song was sooo annoying. nini deserved to be that fork. she dragged the whole show down like it was always so much better when she wasnt there aklfjlksd

the rivalry with the other school was lots of fun. i liked all the new characters. my favorite original song was miss jenn's number with derek hough

season 3:

this season was likeee a pleasant mid for me??? idk it was fine and fun but it didnt have anything in it that blew me away. i think this season was screaming for extra episodes more than any other, since we were missing a chunk of the cast. we deserved to cut back to salt lake every now and again and see what the non-camp-goers were up to

kourtney and gina as elsa and anna was a dream. not the biggest fan of frozen but they did a good job. everyone looked so cute in their costumes and kourtney's solo was amazinggg. the new characters were fun but i dont have strong feelings towards them lol. but i loved getting to explore kourtney's character and her struggles with anxiety, that was very real

them filming a documentary was funny bc have they not been filming one this whole time? my headcanon was that the to-the-camera interviews were all in their heads and everyone was practicing for when they became famous lol but then ricky ruined that in s4 by acknowledging them directly rip 💔

i liked after their show ended and they all got sharpies and wrote their names on the walls back stage. that was definitely a potent theater kid memory and got me a lil teary eyed

i liked ej taking on the role of director and copying miss jenn's hand holding and high pitched singing at the first read thru. i liked ej and gina together i thought they were cute. it was disappointing that the show wouldnt commit to them for even a minute and they always had to be teetering on the edge between being a couple and not. that was frustrating

and girl just get nini out of there already. olivia wanted nini to be there as much as i did. she was sooo over it by s3

umm favorite original song was corbin bluh's basketball song

season 4:

very very fun season again. loved the chaos of filming the movie at the school while school is happening. as if every movie set in a real school doesnt shoot in the summer. oh well. gotta have a season!

there was too much mack for me personally. i dont think he gave wanted they wanted to be given. i needed more dani tho. her actress was so good at bad acting. she couldve been a much bigger comedic presence also she looked like a cross between sofia carson and emma roberts but sometimes just looked like a latina emma roberts ??? is that just me??

and still the lack of seb and big red at the beginning like ?? did they specifically piss off the writers so they had to banish them for nearly half the show?

loved that the little girl from camp was there. she stole the show. and maddox and jet are fine alskfjsldk i just didnt form strong opinions on them but i do like them

ashlyn's "i need to give her mouth to mouth! AS A FRIEND!" was the funniest line of the entire show hands down

so happy they finally had a halloween episode! it was lots of fun and everyone looked so cute in their costumes uwu. but that guy from camp that was stalking carlos??? that was so bizarre and it never paid off likeee what was the reason

and gina's mom was pissing us off so bad. she was acting wild this season. like gina has to focus on her studies so no boys but she can work from sun up to sun down on a movie lmao. and her mom had the nerve to be like "well i never came to your shows bc that was just high school theater but THIS is a movie" like wooow. and i swear it felt like she was about to sell gina off to mack bc he was famous. and when she started with that "porters dont wait around" mess and ricky cleared her with a quickness with that whole "well i seem to remember gina waiting around for you on opening night" like damn

and omg when mack was over for dinner and ricky came over with chocolates but saw him thru the window. i was like ugh fuck its gonna be the stupid thing where he sees this and gets the wrong idea and its gonna be a stupid wedge between him and gina that doesnt need to be there bc no one can communicate BUT THEN gina sees him outside and runs to him and i think i screamed bc i was so relieved aslkjskl but their kiss was very cinematic and cute ♥️♥️

and omg on sunday night im sitting there trudging thru s1 like "yeah starting this might've been a mistake" and by friday im bawling my eyes out bc the story is ending 💔💔 sofia deserved the whole fucking egot and a golden globe too for that scene at the end. and i was SO invested in her acting career and like pleading with the show for her not to pass on it and stay at school but fucking genius that she is found a way to do both!!!

and i honestly didnt know what i wanted miss jenn to do like i was rooting for her both ways but of course she staaayed. and the show ended and it had the "skip credits" button and my sister was like "oh there's something after the credits?" and then i saw "for good" listed at the end of the songs and i screamed again. and was bawling again when everyone was singing that. who knew this silly little show would have such a death grip on me by the end???

so over all it was really very good and not a waste of time. i liked pretty much every character and it was just a lot of fun! would definitely watch it again

my over all season ranking would be two, four, three, and one is dead ass last

my favorite characters from the start were gina, miss jenn, carlos, ashlyn, and big red lowkey alskfjdskl. kourtney got up there in s2 and beyond. and i do really like ricky, ej, seb, they're my secondary faves. (kinda wish ricky had more to do bc aside from his parents, i feel like every single one of his issues had to do with a love triangle and i just wish the character was granted a little more texture) and the camp kids were good, they were fine, they're like third-iary faves. and the only ones i dislike are gina's mom and nini lol

and i wasnt like screaming over any ships but generally i liked them all except rini. ej and gina was cute, i liked ashlyn and maddox, i liked ashlyn and big red, carlos and seb probably were my faves if i had to pick, i liked kourtney with howie (wish we saw him again) and jet, and yes by the end i was rooting for rina they just won me over this season and were super cute and im glad they ended where they did ♥️

[sw33t-oubliette]

Musics... what songs you like... I need... recs..

YAY YAY YAY YAY OKAY THIS MAY BE LONG

Steam Powered Giraffe . they're a robot band with a ton of lore but you dont have to know any of it to enjoy the music !!! if you wanna get into the lore i suggest listening to the albums in release order , but if not just shuffling em is good !! even if you decide to get into the lore later you can still just shuffle for now , the songs dont really spoil anything , theyre mostly connected to the robot's feelings and not events . except Vice Quadrant . if you wanna get into the lore i suggest leaving The Vice Quadrant alone until you listen in album release order . all of the lore is on the website below in the lore and comic tabs ! ^_^

Kabaret Sybarit . theyre a danish dark cabaret band with two narrative universes . the first narrative is in The Poodle and The Grand Finale , huge trigger warning for rape and sexual topics in these two . the second narrative is Akt 1: Rum Nr. 13 , the whole thing is in danish but google translate works fine for the lyrics . Akt 1 was unfortunately only act one of a story that was supposed to be longer , but the band separated and they never finished it . what it is is still really good though ! heres the music video for the first song in The Poodle:

Paul Shapera ! he has a few narratives over all his albums , but the only one ive listened to personally is New Albion . the New Albion trilogy is: The Dolls of New Albion, New Albion Radio Hour, and The New Albion Guide to Analogue Consciousness. there's also The Room Beneath New Albion but its not as long and not necessary to understand the main story . theres also more New Albion past those four but i havent gotten into anything outside the 4 . content warning for incest in act 3 for Dolls of New Albion (its not really explicit ever but the main character of act 3 expresses romantic love for his grandfather) . bandcamp link for the first one in the trilogy !

Will Wood and The Tapeworms ! ive only listened to Everything Is Alot , but its really good ! some songs i really like from it are White Knuckle Jerk (Where Do You Get Off), 6up 5oh Cop-Out (Pro / Con), and Front Street !

Shayfer James !!! i recommend Counterfeit Arcade, it has definitely some of my favorite songs ever in it (like Weight of the World and Diggin Up Hatchets) ! and Room by Room !

Sarah And The Safe Word ! im more of a casual fan of them , but some of my favorite songs by them are Sick on Seventh Street, Formula 666, Old Lace, Bottom of a Bender, and Red Hot & Holy !

The Cog Is Dead ! theyre a steampunk band with some lore but its decently less than Steam Powered Giraffe . most of their songs are one off stories with no connect to a greater plot . you can go whatever order for them but i do suggest listening to the albums and not just shuffling them ! website:

Scene Queen ! i suggest just shuffling her it doesnt really matter how you listen to her music . warning majority of her music is very sexual though

Set It Off ! they have so many different styles of music across their albums , i suggest listening to the albums in full for the full experience but it doesnt really matter , they dont have a narrative . except for Elsewhere . for Elsewhere , i suggest exploring the website if you wanna figure out the lore ! its really cool and visually interesting .

The Mechanisms ! they have a ton of lore , most of which is in their albums . for them you kinda have to listen to the albums in full you cant really shuffle . unless you dont care about the lore then do whatever ! you can listen in whatever order , but i STRONGLY suggest leaving Death To The Mechanisms for last . i started with that and i basically fucked up my whole experience :pensive:

[ncutii-gatwa]

hi, i sent the ted lasso ships and hooo boyyy i am so happy that you put my thoughts and feelings into words so perfectly! i was genuinely a bit weirded out in the last season because it felt like the show deliberately opened doors that it firmly closed in the earlier seasons? i assume they pulled that just so the audience feels encouraged to take whatever route they prefer because suddenly all these ships are apparently "plausible" in canon again.

there were quite a few weird samrebecca moments in s3 that felt like they are suddenly back at having feelings for each other? like why have them run into each other or share a meaningful look over watching some romantic movie? it gave off this vibe like "oh la la, it isn't fully over yet" wtf. i hated that they sold that ship so positively with the whole power imbalance thing. i agree, it wouldn't have come off the same way if the boss was a man and the football player was a woman.

and i actually loved jamie's entire development and how it was very much not about ever getting back together with keeley! the show doing a 180 in the last episode just to undo this central aspect of his development that actually felt organic just for some cheap comedic relief simply felt like bad writing to me. i pretend it didn't happen because i hate it >:(. jamie is over her, keeley is over him.

while i'm already here lmao. what about roykeeley? XD

you took the words right out of my mouth! the fact the writers were hinting at sam and rebecca for no reason, then decided to hint tedbecca only for it to be a fake out, THEN hint at roy and keeley getting back together in one episode but nothing happening the next. it really felt like the finale was detached from the rest of the season. like they'd run out of time to explore everything so just slapped a finish on no matter what it meant for characters and relationships.

idk what they were thinking making roy and jamie literally fight over keeley like wtf. as you said jamie's arc in s3 was always about himself, and even though he admitted to keeley he loved her in s2, s3 seemed to move on from that and the relationship all together. and despite s1 i really do feel jamie isn't a violent person. why would he wanna be with a father like his? and two men literally fighting over a women and pressuring her to make a choice between them was stupid af idk why they did it (and dont even talk to me about jamie using the keeley video that was leaked as like a one up on roy. old jamie might have done that but not our jamie). you could tell men wrote those scenes.

as for roykeeley i really loved them. i really loved their relationship and wanted them to get back together by the end of s3. im so annoyed and sad and a little angry they didn't. idk why the writers were constantly hinting at them getting back together and even had them sleep together again just for it to go nowhere. like what was the point of roy's letter and the almost talk in jamie's old bedroom if nothing was going to happen? i honestly feel cheated and baited by the writers. like they saw that roykeeley was a popular ship because of how genuine it was and they decided to rip it apart for drama

sorry for the rant i just have a lot of feelings about season 3 that ive not had to chance to get out really :)

[kingofthewilderwest]

Hello, Haddock! Now that Voltron (sadly) ended, how would you rank the seasons? Also, could you tell how many times you've rewatched them?

Hey there, friend! WAY happy to chat Voltron and all its seasons!

Unlike most fandom culture, I’m not a chronic rewatcher, and the default assumption is that I’ve only seen any show once. It’s rare for me to see shows more than once, honestly, even ones I love. I certainly will be watching VLD more times, but because of my normal watching habits, I’ve seen a large portion of the show only once. I’ve seen S1 probably about 5 times, S2 thrice, S3-4 twice, and S5+ once. I’ve seen “The Last Stand” from S7 twice.

These are rankings based somewhat upon my emotional attachments and not simply objective elements like narrative structure! XD I already know my preferences are going to be different than lots of people in the VLD fandom, haha. These rankings are also based on memory, which is pretty strong admittedly for VLD, but it leaves room to change with a rewatch.

EIGHTH PLACE: VLD Season 8

Let’s be clear: I don’t dislike Season 8 and there’s much I enjoy. Give it up for S8 love!!! Standout episodes to me include “Launch Date,” “The Prisoner’s Dilemma,” and “Day Forty-Seven.” The women going shopping together and Pidge dressing as 1980s Darrell Stoker made my life. Not to mention… it was fun spending time with the MFEs; they didn’t take a disproportionate amount of time, but gave us good moments to make us love them. I’m thankful for the S8 ending giving us both a sense of wrap-up for the plot conflicts, but also looking forward to what our Paladins will do to rejuvenate the galaxy. There’s much I’m thankful for with S8.

That said, S8 isn’t my jam as much as other seasons. I’m not much of a shipper and I wasn’t into the Allurance, nor did I get pulled into the magic-heavy plot conflict with Haggar and her Alteans. And while S7 does give great screen time to Allura, it felt a little less like an ensemble cast and more like a spotlight on her. Enemies’ minds changed too fast for me to feel realistic, and the magic-wonky plot didn’t feel as gripping and intense as S7. It’s the reason I’m placing S8 here: from my own preferences, I attached with other seasons more.

SEVENTH PLACE: VLD Season 5

For whatever reason, S5 didn’t make as much of an impression on me as other seasons. I wasn’t as invested in concepts like “Kral Zera” and “White Lion.” Given as S5 is an odd numbered season in the middle portion of Voltron, it has an innate disadvantage: it’s written in all but name as the first half of a season, which means story arc ending payoffs wouldn’t happen until S6. I also feel like S5 is where plot writing is at one of its most tangled or muddied, given as there’s lots being juggled and introduced conflict-wise and lore-wise and universe-wise and character-wise.

However, S5 - like all seasons - gives us cool stuff. We got Matt (one of my favorite characters) participating in an adventure, lots of Lotor screentime, and a callout to 1980s DOTU that I never thought they’d be able to turn into a good episode (“White Lion”). And!!! We get to meet!!! KROLIA!!!

SIXTH PLACE: VLD Season 3

I have particularly fond attachment to S3. This is the season where I started getting actively involved in Voltron fandom discourse, giving my own take on Project Kuron theories. This is the season that gave us the first glimpse of the Classic Voltron formation - Keith in Black, Lance in Red, Pidge in Green, Allura in Blue, Hunk in Yellow. I felt a thrill go through me as Keith, for the first time, said “Form Voltron!” Also… Lance really stepping up to show his leadership potential??? So good. And this is the season where we meet Lotor, another long-anticipated character… and oh my goodness is his character introduction gold. So there’s lots of stuff I hold strong affinity for in S3.

The reason I have to rank Season 3 back here is because it’s more about the Paladins floundering around than anything else. It’s meant to create a new sense of chaos and instability… their leader Shiro is gone, and now there are new unexpected threats like Lotor to handle. However, at the same time, since half of the season is just the Paladins floundering around not knowing how to work together, it makes me less attached to particular episodes. None of the episodes are favorites or standouts to me on their own. There’s lots of cool moments throughout S3, but I think the only episode I notably emotionally attach to is “The Journey.” But still? Good season!

FIFTH PLACE: VLD Season 1

I can’t believe I have this amazing season all the way back here. I want it to be higher, except that I do have to rank other seasons above this one. 

Season 1 is what gets everything started. It sets the stage for what Voltron’s all about, teaching us about lions and robeasts and Zarkon and the Galaxy Garrison and all that good stuff from 1980s nostalgia… all the while creating a new vibe and energy to the franchise. In retrospect, S1 feels much calmer and less high-stakes than the rest of the series (especially post S2). However, it’s a solid season with good episodes that never feel less solid and good. We get great Hunk material with him finding conviction; great Shiro and Pidge moments as they share different worries over the abduction; hilarious Keith and Lance clashes; lots and lots and lots of good things. It’s a very solid season, especially once we launch off Arus.

FOURTH PLACE: VLD Season 6

If you want to know how tight my season rankings are to each other, S6 was almost listed second place.

I attach to specific episodes in particular for S6. I love the visuals in “Razor’s Edge.” I died howling with laughter in “Monsters & Mana.” I fell into so many emotional feels regarding Keith and Shiro in “The Black Paladins.” We get one of the all-time best emotional, action-oriented episodes of VLD… and one of the most amazing, hysterical filler episodes in S6. Despite being seven episodes long, S6 is an incredible ride and adventure start to end. It’s hard to believe so much occurred in that amount of time!

There’s hoards of great stuff in this season. We get the Kuron arc resolved, with lots of emotional content between Keith and Shiro. We get the Lotor arc resolved, learning whether or not he can be trusted, with great Lotor and Allura time. We get Keith returning to the Paladins. We get the introduction of Romelle, which all DOTU lovers have been waiting for forever.

THIRD PLACE: VLD Season 4

I have to put VLD S4 here because of its emotional power. There are damned AMAZING moments this season, alongside some of my favorite episodes and moments of all time. I know I and some of the other fans aren’t huge on “The Voltron Show!” But fuck it, guys, S4 gave us “Reunion” and “A New Defender”!!!

Matt is a delight this season, from his first meeting of Allura, to his tour around the Castle of Lions with Pidge, to his technological connections with his sister and Hunk, to his participation in the Rebels’ fighting forces. We also get some of the funniest moments for me in Voltron, between learning how to milk Kaltenecker and seeing HOW Pidge finally managed to rig up the video game system.

Then there’s the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. “Reunion” is the single most emotional episode in all of Voltron for me. Even though I’d seen screencaps of Matt prior to watching S4, I felt as shocked and heartbroken as Pidge to come to his gravestone. There’s so much POWER to this gravestone scene; it’s one of the moments that resonates with me the most even after I’ve finished the whole show. It might even be my Number One FAVORITE moment in the entire show. It’s not my place to analyze that scene here, but DAMN. 

Furthermore, the climax with the battle of Naxzela was INTENSE, with Keith almost sacrificing himself getting me screaming. That was such a great battle and climactic moment in VLD. This was a great culminating moment, in which the series has officially built up from a small team to a universe-wide conflict.

We get standout moments with Keith being badass with the blades, Matt taking initiative, Pidge seeking out her family, Allura helping Voltron flee the gravity field, Kuron becoming increasingly more suspicious. VLD S4 ramps everything up from the emotions to the excitement, resulting in an awesome and intense six episodes.

SECOND PLACE: VLD Season 7

It’s really hard for me to put this as second place instead of first place. I originally had it in first place. I want it to be first place. I LOVE the second half of S7 so much. This is, possibly, my favorite season from an emotional standpoint because wow.

It’s all-around outstanding. S7 showed us how far the Paladins have come as heroes; they operate with great teamwork, skill, and professionalism that is oh-so-cool to see on screen. They’re still the characters we love and cherish, but they’ve grown SO MUCH since their first days on Voltron. This is fully-fledged heroes doing fully-fledged battles and it’s GREAT.

S7 gives us standout moments to so many characters, including Hunk, Shiro, Sam, Colleen, Veronica, and Keith. We even get some good adventure time with Romelle! And as far as character interactions are concerned, we get touching moments between Keith and Lance, Keith and Hunk, and so many other combinations.

The story raises the stakes to higher levels than ever before, with an emotional and exciting conquest of Earth. There’s nothing more horrible and high-stakes to audiences than a homefront war. We feel extreme pain for Hunk with fears for his family, and Shiro for the loss of Adam. We feel the great sense of danger and desperation starting with “The Last Stand.” We feel the drama of a long and extended climax fighting for Earth’s freedom, including moments where the Paladins control the Lions outside their body (so cool), Shiro commands the ATLAS (SO cool), and the ATLAS also transforms into a fighting robot (SO FREAKING COOL!). This has some of the most exciting, badass stuff of Voltron ever. I love it.

Highlight episodes for me are “The Last Stand” (two episodes without the Paladins about Earth fighting for its freedom? this was fucking amazing), “Trial By Fire,” and “Lions’ Pride.” Essentially - all of the second half of the season.

FIRST PLACE: Season 2

Season 2 is probably THE MOST solid season in all of VLD. 

Almost every episode is good, memorable, fun, lovable, enjoyable, classic. It highlights the full ensemble cast. It creates an EXTREMELY exciting, exhilarating, fun climax. It is a strong narrative season, cleanly and proudly finishing the first 26 episode long arc for VLD. This season shows VLD at its best. Since it consistently delivers, there’s nowhere else S2 belongs except the top.

We get great Shiro time, what with his arc spent learning to trust Black… leading to him being a badass unlocking the Lion’s wings and taking Zarkon’s bayard. We get great Pidge time, whether it’s her freaking out over video games or drawing deeper into the beauty of the world - technology and biology both. We get great Keith time, with him fighting for answers in the Blade of Marmora and infiltrating Zarkon’s base in an extremely dangerous mission. We get great Hunk time, between unlocking his Lion’s claws and taking initiative in the Weblum adventure. We get great Lance moments, where he shows us he truly can be a sharpshooter for the team. We get great Allura moments, especially in how she fought against Haggar in the finale. This season rocks it for EVERY Paladin.

Not only does every individual Paladin get good spotlighting, but S2 also rocks it with character interactions. How Allura handles Keith being Galra is a memorable moment of character development for both of them. How Hunk and Keith interact in “The Belly of the Weblum” is a delight. How Shiro loses his cool with Slav is hysterical. I can never complain to Lance and Hunk combinations, like in “The Depths.” And of course every episode focused on Keith and Shiro gives us good feels.

Standout episodes for S2 include “The Ark of Taujeer” (THE COLORS), “The Blade of Marmora,” “Blackout,” “Space Mall.” I cannot believe I watched an episode where the character dressed as space pirates and rode on a flying cow to escape a mall cop. That happened. It’s a delight. And S2 kept rocking it with the humor, down to Pidge creating all her Paladin buddies out of space junk and imitating them. But S2 also gives us some of the most memorable moments of VLD storytelling, what with “The Blade of Marmora.” That episode is a staple for many reasons. Not to mention… all of S2 works together cohesively for the long-term arc structure.

And then there’s the climax. So well-done. So exciting. So immersive. So intense. So cool. So badass. Great colors, great flow, great plot, great everything start to end. I was in a THRILL at the end of S2 because this climax was so unbelievably fun. In retrospect it’s got competition with S7, and S7 probably takes the cake now… but fuck it, S2′s end will always be awesome.

Every single season in VLD gives me something to be excited about. There are things to love each step of the journey. I’m thankful for every episode from S1 to S8. 

What a ride this journey has been.

[meanderfall]

Don't worry about taking some time to respond, the fact that you reply at all (and always with so much!) always makes my day! I didn't mean to imply that Caboose was an adult because he's dangerous, sorry about that! Ask boxes are just so small and I try not to flood you with too many, but it makes me lose some nuance. By pointing out that he was dangerous I was also trying to say he was competent, and was referring back to how the BCG tend to treat Caboose like he's harmless and helpless. [1/5]

[2/5] I'm a little sensitive to infantilization because a lot of people do it to me when they find out I'm autistic, so I'll admit it might just be me reading too deep into the little things, like how all the motivational speeches leave Caboose out ("And Caboose... er, it's good to see you?"). And how in Chorus he's given a toy gun because they think he has no impulse control, and no one ever expects him to have good ideas or be competent at anything despite doing/being both on a regular basis.

[3/5] But mostly what I meant when I said they don't treat him like an adult is that they treat him like he's an 'emotional timebomb' when he's not. It definitely comes from a place of caring, but they don't trust him to be able to handle hard truths. It's fine that they try to spare him some grief, but they don't give anyone else the same courtesy which implies that they think he - the one commonly described by fans and writers as innocent and childlike or as a "manchild" - needs to be coddled.

[4/5] And for sure a lot of Temple/Alpha treating Caboose like they do everyone comes from being assholes! Temple absolutely said it because Grif tried to defend Caboose when the implications of the recording failed to hurt him like it did the rest of them. But he's also not wrong that people tend to treat Caboose like he's fragile when he's probably the most emotionally resilient of the BGC. Which wouldn't be a problem narratively if Caboose wasn't also the only one with obvious brain trauma...   

[5/5] Also, the Director says in that flashback that they're the only team who's remained at a stalemate and that everything should be recorded so that they can recreate it (I can't tell if he wanted that composition for all future sim teams or just on an as needed basis though). I took this to mean that when he later decided to place Alpha somewhere safe he specifically chose people similar to the BvRs so that there would be another stalemate and therefore little chance of him being harmed.

You’re back!!! ^v^ Sorry, I immediately put all the asks under a readmore because I feel bad about clogging up dashes, but I also feel like they should be here in case anyone else wants to read these and understand what’s going on.

And omg don’t ever feel bad about sending me entire essays!!! I absolutely adore it!!! It makes me so happy, honestly, send in as many asks as you want, send in so many that you need several days to get it all in because you hit ask limit, it seriously makes my day

And, yeah, ask boxes are way too small, nuances get lost so easily when you’re trying to shove in all the necessary information in them :/ I sort of figured that you might have meant it in the sense that Caboose is actually competent in a fight and doesn’t need coddling, but the phrasing just immediately sent up red flags, so I wanted to address that point just in case. I’m sorry if that made you feel bad! I meant no offense.

I think you have some serious good points (to the point I’m not even sure I can add anything??? I’m mostly sitting here, like “yup, that’s true, they do do that don’t they”) and tbh I don’t think you’re being oversensitive to it or reading too much into it. And even if you were, it’s not a bad thing. Lord knows we all have something, a sore spot, a behaviour or cliche or situation that when it happens in media it hits something seriously personal or traumatic and just affects how you see things and feel when you watch it. (Tbh, I’ve recently encountered that sort of thing while playing a video game (which isnt fun bc i now dislike a character that everyone adores) and then again in the season 2 finale of Camp Camp.) So, like. I get you. 

(I don’t remember the specific circumstance with the toy gun in Chorus and then the eventual implantation of Freckles in the gun, but I kind of read it as them doing it to prevent team kills??? Or is that part of the problem, that it’s running gag that he kills people when trying to help them?)

You know, I laughed during the emotional time bomb scene, specifically Wash’s ‘jesus christ’ afterwards, but taking a step back to think about it, you’re right. Caboose is probably the farthest one from being an emotional time bomb. Pretty sure Wash in s6-s8, Carolina in s9-10, and Tucker in s15 have the dubious honour of being titled with such a moniker. 

Caboose is easily the healthiest one when it comes to emotions, because he actually lets himself feel them and express them properly. And he tries sharing what he’s feeling. Tbh, imo, he’s probably one of the strongest person emotionally, and I admire him so much for it?? Like his guide to making friends, when he finishes it with ‘but you can always make more. And that’s pretty neat’, I’m personally blown away that he’s able to keep such a positive outlook, like lmao im sitting here getting absolutely run-down and exhausted from making and losing friends all the time and not wanting to bother anymore, and Caboose is there like “my heart got broken, but that’s okay! Spending time with you helps me fix it up again, I’m really happy we’re friends.” How even??? Caboose, can I be you???

They coddle him. And he doesn’t need to be. He’s pretty smart and competent, and he’s handled so many emotional ups and downs like a champ. Maybe not always in the healthiest ways, but he eventually got better.

(Random thought, but do you remember that scene where Wash picks him up in s6 for his team, and the Captain like takes Caboose aside to tell him to never come back and Caboose is like “Never walk backwards”? Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Caboose actually did understand completely what he said, and all the other times in other explanations like that, but said something completely off the wall just to fuck with them? Or maybe not. Idk)

Isn’t it common fanon that Caboose’s brain trauma occurred when Omega, Tex and Alpha, three AIs, went inside his head and fucked around in there? It’s always kind of interesting to look back to s1 and see how much they’ve changed. Pretty sure Caboose and Donut suffered the most from flanderization...

This discussion is really great tbh, because now I’m honestly getting upset at how people treat Caboose in universe. I love it when my point of view and opinions of characters get changed.

Oh, really that happened with the Director? I must’ve missed it. I always assumed that the Director didn’t have much if any input with what happened with Alpha, mainly because he was either being put on tribunal and needed plausible deniability or, way more likely, he was on the run already. Admittedly, the timeline is confusing?? Is the Director and the Counselor still active throughout s1-s6? They are right? Is the Director actually keeping an eye on Alpha then?? But then how come he let the other AI fragments and Tex, all of which were on the run from PFL, go into Blood Gulch and interact with Alpha? The RvB timeline is awful and filled with so many questions and I hate that so much, but I also love it because that means we can have fun with headcanons and stuff.

I have no idea about if he recreated it on purpose then. Because, with the episodes on s14, I thought Florida was just purposely finding the laziest and most incompetent people he could to prevent Alpha from being harmed, I thought that’s all there was to it. Do you think Florida could’ve been made aware of the Blues and Reds?? Or maybe the Counselor told him. Also, I kind of assumed that the sim bases were supposed to have all kinds of different situations and circumstances so that the Freelancers could be challenged with different scenarios.

(An aside, isn’t the whole sim thing kind of fucked up for the Freelancers though? Because, I’m like 99% sure that being sent into such scenarios where everyone else around them is considered incompetent by the average soldier, never mind Freelancers, probably 1) encourages them to think of themselves as better, upping their arrogance 2) makes them think that they really might be the best if not the only ones who can win the war, adding a shit-ton of pressure and 3) makes them think more fondly of their team, the Freelancers, tightening their bonds, and then the Director purposefully broke those bonds, and instead of it just being a team not meshing well, it becomes betrayal, and heartbreak, and trauma. and that’s not even going into how the sim troopers feel, a bunch of people who either volunteered to help, or signed up to try and better themselves, or who were drafted, all being used in the sick games of a man with a sick mind, and being essentially useless for the war effort. Nice going, Director) (lmao talking about him makes me want to finally make that gifset idea i have for him)

(also???? you like hearing me ramble about things??? what is this, is this reality, what is going??? thank you, that really makes me so happy you have no idea